DIALOGO CON GLI INTERNAUTI

SCHUON E GUÉNON SU CRISTIANESIMO E ISLÀM

3/8/2001 Paulo Salles mi invia un suo articolo su Frithjof Schuon (scritto per  http://www.digestivocultural.com).

D. Ch. - Thank you very much for your article. I've read it with interest, and I'll read it again, because it seems to me well-balanced (I read Portuguese with few difficulties).

I've read three or four times or more every Guénon's work, and some of Schuon's too. I always found Schuon interesting but a little pretentious. For what's concerning Guénon's "disciples", never I found such a mass of fanatics. Relatively to Guénon, I agree with you that his comprehension of Christianism was not at the best. Besides, I don't like Guénon's and Schuon's tendencies to islamicize people. I like very much sufism, but I don't believe that is generally well for christians to become muslims.

Besides, I think that God doesn't need to be called with this or that name. He is beyond human mind, and self-revealed in man's heart every time is necessary.

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6/8/2001 Paulo Salles risponde al messaggio precedente.

Schuon was right when he said that the Christian religion is an esoteric tradition in relation to Judaism and Islam, which Guénon could never see or admit, since he identified Christian esoterism strictly with the secret societies of the Middle Ages.

On the other hand, Christians themselves, both clergymen and laymen, have lost conscience of this esoteric character of their religion almost totally in the last centuries. I also don't like Schuon's and Guénon's influence on the Islamization of so many of their disciples, but, since Sufism is still the only "self-conscious" living form of esoterism still available for converts, I understand why Schuon, Guénon and their disciples had to convert to Islam in order to obtain easy access to a safe metaphysical instruction.

But today a Catholic who wants to have access to spiritual knowledge beyond the mere field of exoteric morals will hardly find someone to instruct him in his own religion and will have to search for himself. This is much more difficult (and I know that because I am myself a Catholic in this situation) than to be instructed in a Sufi tariqah, but notwithstanding it is, I believe, plainly possible. No Christian needs to convert to Islam for that.

I totally agree with you in this sense.

You are right: Guénon's disciples are usually fanatics, which does not seem to happen to Schuon's disciples.

D. Ch. - Sono d'accordo con lei su quasi tutto.

Da esperienze indirette ma direttamente constatate mi pare estremamente problematico per un occidentale diventare sufi. Nelle turuq sufi occidentali prevale in genere un'ideologia fanatico-destroide indigesta. Vi è confluita una buona parte dell'estrema destra, e credo che con Muhammad abbiano poco a che vedere, se si bada al cuore e non alla forma.

Non si può parlare di esoterismo se non si apre il cuore all'Invisibile, e per aprirsi all'Invisibile, lei ne converrà, non basta certo leggere libri o recitare preghiere.

E poi, infine, "lo Spirito soffia dove vuole".